Convertible chair and sleeping berths



Oct. 9, 1962 G. L. JOHNSON 3,057,552

CONVERTIBLE CHAIR AND SLEEPING BERTHS Filed Oct. 51, 1960 r g- -1 IO INVEIQITOR H G 4 Grady L.Johnson ho/ m .alahwdh, BY

ATTORNEY United States Patent 3 057 662 CGNVERTHELE CHAIiQ AlWD SLEEPING BERTHS Grady L. Johnson, 619 W. Howard Ave., Decatur, Ga. Filed Oct. 31, 1960, Ser. No. 80,512 4 Claims. (Cl. Z97-463) The invention relates to chairs such as those used on railway trains, buses, airplanes, etc., in which the occupant may sit upright or at will recline for rest or sleep for which the chair is adapted by suitable adjustment thereof.

An object of the invention is to provide a chair convertible into either an upper sleeping berth elevated from the floor or a lower sleeping berth upon the floor. Another object is to provide such a chair adapted to occupy the same floor space as the chair occupies before such conversion. Other objects and advantages will appear herein after or will be obvious.

The invention consists in the novel construction and combinations of parts hereinafter set forth in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a side view of the chair with one side frame thereof removed and showing in dotted lines its conversion into an upper and a lower sleeping berth;

FIGURE 2 is a rear view of the chair with its seat and back in normal position;

FIGURE 3 is a side view on a smaller scale showing alternate aligned chairs converted into upper and lower sleeping berths.

FIGURE 4 is a plan view on the same scale as FIG- URE 3, showing the side by side positions of the alternate aligned chairs converted into upper and lower sleeping berths.

Referring to the drawings, the numeral 1 designates two opposite fixed side frames spaced apart and having horizontal upper edges 2 provided each with open top notches 3, inner horizontal arm rests 4 located below said upper edges, inner horizontal ledges 5 located below said arm rests, and rear open top notches 6, and located at the bottoms of said side frames at the rear ends thereof.

Said chair has a seat member 7 normally resting upon said ledges 5, and a back member 8, hingedly connected to said seat member at 9, said back having a transverse rod 10 fixed thereto, the ends of which normally rest in certain of said upper notches 3, to support said back in normal position, said back being adapted for hinged adjustment to vary its incline, when the ends of said rod will engage certain others of said upper notches. This adjustment is accomplished by lifting the back member and then dropping it by gravity.

Said hingedly connected seat and back are liftable rearwardly from between said side frames and then droppable by gravity and brought to rest in horizontal aligned position upon said arm rests 4 with the ends of said rod 10 engaging certain of said upper notches 3 to fix the position of and form an upper sleeping berth elevated from the floor support of said side frames.

Said hingedly connected seat and back are liftable rearwardly from between said side frames and then droppable by gravity and brought to: rest in horizontal aligned position upon the floor support of said side frames with the ends of said rod 10 engaging said bottom notches 6 to fix the position of and form a lower sleeping berth.

Said seat member is provided with a foot rest 11 having telescoping engagement therewith and withdrawable therefrom. Said back member is provided with a pillow rest 12 for head pillows having telescoping engagement therewith and withdrawable therefrom.

As will be seen from FIGURE 2, adjacent chairs converted respectively to upper and lower sleeping berths occupy the same floor space as do said chairs prior to said conversion with the chair occupants enabled to sleep at full length and separated from each other much more than they would be if the two sleeping berths were both on the same level.

I claim:

.1. A chair convertible into either an upper or a lower sleeping berth comprising two opposite side frames spaced apart transversely, having horizontal upper edges provided with open top notches, horizontal arm rests located below said upper edges, horizontal ledges located below said arm rests and rear open top notches located at the bottoms of said frames at the rear ends thereof, a chair seat member resting upon said ledges, a chair back member hingedly connected to said seat member and having a transverse rod, the ends of which rest in certain of said upper notches to support said back in normal position, said hingedly connected seat and back being liftable rearwardly from between said side frames and thereafter droppable by gravity in horizontally aligned position with adjacent parts of said seat and back resting upon said arm rests and the ends of said rod engaging certain of said upper notches to fix the position of and form an upper sleeping berth elevated from the floor support of said side frames.

2. A chair, convertible into either an upper or a lower sleeping berth, as defined in claim 1, in which said hingedly connected seat and back are liftable rearwardly from between said side frames, droppable by gravity and reinsertable between said side frames in horizontal aligned position upon the floor support of said frames with the ends of said rod engaging sadi bottom notches to fix the position of and form a lower sleeping berth.

3. A chair convertible into either an upper or a lower sleeping berth, as defined in claim 2, in which said seat member is provided with a foot rest having telescoping engagement therewith, and said back member is provided with a pillow rest for head pillows having telescoping engagement therewith.

4. A chair convertible into either an upper or a lower sleeping berth as defined in claim 2, in which adjacent chairs converted respectively into an upper and a lower sleeping berth occupy little more floor space than the chair occupies prior to said conversion.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

